Model 4242564 Maka
by snowbunnie13
Summary: "So he was cheating on his wife with ROBOTS!" Soul exclaimed.  "That's why he's not my papa." his android said.
1. Chapter 1

Model 4242564 Maka

Hmm…it's about time to start a new story, eh? This one's a little different from anything I've written before, so I'll give it a shot. It's an AU and EXTREMELY OOC, but hopefully it's entertaining, at least. Oh, and I wouldn't be writing disclaimers if I didn't own Soul Eater. Anyway, you have my media class to blame for this Model Maka!

"He's responsible . . . enough." Mrs. Evans said. "He's certainly old enough."

"What if he breaks it? He can get violent. Remember last week with the piano?" Mr. Evans argued.

"That was old, almost antique! It was bound to break anyway. Why he wanted to play that old piece of trash instead of the new one he got for his birthday I have no idea." She said, setting down her cup of tea—a delicacy in this day and age—on a glass coffee table. The old table, made of wood, had been thrown out _years _ago for the new, 22nd century style.

"He won't break it." The woman's personal android said, after a few calculations in her head. She was programmed to help with important decisions; Mrs. Evans did most of the finances in the household. The robot sat hesitantly next to the woman. She had learned that her owner did not mind, but in polite company. . .

"Nygus agrees with me. We need to buy Soul an android."

Mr. Evans sighed as his android, Sid, nodded. Unfortunately Sid had a tendency to go along with anything Nygus said. Which was either a flaw, or perhaps he had taken a bit of his owner's personality. Personal androids had a tendency to do that. Some considered it a flaw, but others said it only made them more human-like. They _were, _in fact, designed to be just like humans, but programmable. Sid, for example, had a bodyguard program, probably because Mr. Evans was so paranoid.

"Nygus, will you fetch Soul for me?" Mrs. Evans asked.

The robot nodded, and Sid left to bring the craft around.

"You're getting soft on your android." Mr. Evans commented. "You have to remember that they're robots, even _if _they have artificial hearts."

"They look and act just like humans. I see no problem with treating them as one." She said, straightening her skirt as she stood.

…

"Where're we going?" The younger Evans asked from the backseat of the hovercraft. He sat in the middle of his mother and her android.

"To Shibusen." Mrs. Evans said gently. It was a world-renowned place to buy an android. It was founded by the original Creator of androids, a man who called himself Shinigami because he was 'creating humans who never died'. Unfortunately the man had passed away, and from the last the Evans had heard, it was currently being run by Shinigami's apprentice Spirit. "We're getting you an android."

The boy's red eyes, strange to some, but a characteristic of his family, widened. He wasn't expecting this. He wondered how you got one. Do you buy them, like from a store? That seemed the most logical answer. How do you pick yours out? He knew Nygus and Sid like family, but what would his be like? What did he want it to look like? A boy? Girl? His parents both had androids of the same gender, but his older brother had a female one.

"Look at that sign." Sid said suddenly as they neared the building. "No androids allowed pass this point? I wonder why."

"Hmm. Well, park here, and we'll be back. It's just a short walk away." Mrs. Evans said. The three humans began to trek down the pathway to a strange building, decorated with skulls and spikes. It would have looked threatening, if it wasn't surrounded by suburban homes and apartments.

_Why would anyone want to live next to this weird place? _Soul wondered.

They entered via the front door to find a desk covered in papers and computer screens, and robotic parts scattered across the floor and hung from the wall. It looked like a whirlwind had gone through here, even though that was impossible.

"Hello? Spirit?" Mrs. Evans called, and they heard a crash before a red-headed man came to the front desk. He was dressed in a suit and tie and would have looked professional if not for the comically large bump on his forehead. Soul wasn't sure what to make of him, until he opened his mouth.

"Buying an android for octopus head?" He assumed.

"Who're ya callin' octopus head?" Soul growled and rolled his eyes.

"Yes!" Mr. Evans said over his son's voice. "Can you help him choose one?"

"Hmph. Come with me." Spirit said, leading the albino boy into the back room. He _was _a customer, after all, even if he had decided that he didn't like him.

It sort of resembled a hospital, if you just lined up the beds and didn't section off rooms. On each bed slept what appeared to be a human, connected to some machines. If Soul didn't know they were robots, he probably would have assumed they were human.

"You're young. I'm going to offer you one of these four." Spirit said, taking Soul to the end of the row. "Well, actually those two come as a set. I fixed them—I usually don't—but they won't leave each other's side."

The two he spoke of were two girls, one with short, blond hair and the other with brown hair.

Soul wasn't sure if he could handle two androids, remembering how much Nygus would scold him. She was also programmed with raising children, or at least when he was a child. Yes, Soul decided, one android was enough for him, even _if _they were attractive. . .

His gaze turned to the boy. He had blue hair and a star tattoo on his shoulder. "Model 1111111 Black*Star is a little faulty, but he might make a good friend for you." Soul considered that one, even though a "friend for you" sounded like he was purchasing a toy. Maybe that wasn't so great of an idea.

"And the girl?" Not much to look at, but she was still female.

"Model 4242564 Maka! Oh, I love her! She's my newest model and she can do. . ." Spirit listed all the things this android could do excitedly. It seemed like quite an extensive list, actually, but most androids could do those things. "I love my Maka!"

As Spirit rambled on, Soul examined it further. She had dirty-blond hair, green eyes, and would have been pretty if she had a chest.

"I'll take her." Soul said, just because Spirit liked her so much.

"What?" He paused.

"I'll take model Maka."

Spirit could have cried as he unplugged the android, pushing a few hidden buttons on her arm. Soul uncharacteristically watched him do this, interested.

"Octopus head, come here! In order for her artificial heart to start, you have to kiss her lips!" Spirit pulled on Soul's arm to the hospital bed.

"What?" Soul sure as hell didn't want to kiss a robot. That wouldn't be cool at all!

"It also claims her as your personal android." Spirit elaborated further.

"No way is a cool guy like me kissing Ms. Tiny-tits."

"Would you rather kiss Black*Star, cool guy? And Maka has lovely assets!" Man, Spirit just got angrier by the second! First he decides that he doesn't like Soul, then he's pissed that he chose his favorite android, and now defends her cup size? But he had a point.

Kissing a robot was better than kissing a boy, right?

Soul sighed; he had no choice to lean over and kiss the girl's lips, which were surprisingly soft for an android. Maybe skin texture had improved since Nygus and Sid.

Maka blinked her eyes three times before sitting up, startling Soul. She flexed her muscles, as if waking them up from a long nap. Her eyes focused on Soul's and she smiled goofily.

"Maka! Your papa is here!" Spirit cried.

"You're not my papa." The girl said strongly. "You programmed those andrwomen to love you!"

Spirit smiled nervously. So he was one of those guys with an android fetish, eh? Soul heard about them on the news. A long time ago it was body pillows (though that was more of a horror story than anything) but people were buying androids made _specifically _for, um, _loving. _Maka promptly punched Spirit as he approached her bedside, showing the cause for his bruises.

"Owner!" Maka said next and stared Soul down, smiling. It was a little creepy.

"It's . . . Soul." He replied, confused expression on his face. Maka mimicked it, along with the frown and neutral faces that followed.

"Soul."

"Er—let's go home, Maka. Maka?"

"Soul?"

"Follow me." Maybe a direct command would help.

She fell the moment she mimicked Soul standing, unsteady on her feet.

"Here; I'll help you." The boy said and pulled his android to her feet. Poor thing. Soul actually felt a little sorry for her. Maybe he could not be a cool guy, just for today. It was already cool that he actually got his own, personal android today! "Hold my hand."

He helped Maka back to where his parents were waiting patiently. They'd already paid for the android.

"This is my mom and dad, Maka." Soul introduced.

Maka studied the two faces and agreed, "Mom and dad."

"You made a good choice, Soul." Mrs. Evans said. "She looks very nice."

"AH! Maka, what are you doing?"

"Your hair is white but you are young. . ." she said, pulling at strands of Soul's bangs. "Why?" It appeared like Maka didn't know everything after all.

"It just is. Stop touching me." He looked at his new android angrily. At first she returned his angry expression, but then remembered that the reaction to angry was sad, so she frowned. "Thank you." The three humans began to walk out of the shop.

"Wait! Hold my hand! Soul!"

Her owner groaned and held her hand as they walked slowly. She shielded her eyes against the sudden brightness of the sun with her free hand. Death City was protected with a world-class SunField to keep out the new, harmful sun's rays, but it was still bright. That's what you get for living in a desert!

Maka looked around, recognizing things from her built-in memory.

"This is Sid and Nygus. Sid's my dad's android, and Nygus is my mom's."

"Androids!"

"Hello Maka." They said. "Welcome to the Evans family."


	2. Chapter 2

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 2

"Nygus, when's she gonna _stop?" _Soul complained to the older android, who gave a weak smile. Maka was pulling Soul's hair again, still marveling that it was white.

"One to two days; after a week she'll be less clingy and in a month she'll be fully Integrated." Nygus answered.

"Inte-what?" 

"Integrated. Combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole." Maka quoted from the dictionary. At last she shifted her focus to the window of the hovercraft, making amazed sounds as she watched the scenery.

"It means fully functional. For example, Sid and I are fully Integrated."

Ah, Integration. When a personal android first wakes up, it does have some memory; its Programmer usually added some Language software and some simple Emotions. Shibusen androids came with a basic knowledge of common day-to-day things, but it was still not perfect. Maka might be able to recognize a dog, but not connect it to an animal that plays fetch and loves attention. When she fully Integrates into society she would be able to at least act _normally _too.

"Thanks, Nygus."

"You're welcome."

Although androids were not usually treated as people (the Evans family was an exception), it was good manners to thank a robot for its service. For most, it was like thanking an employee. Just a casual "thanks."

"Soul, what is that? It's not in my memory." Maka pointed outside, where a large group of people were protesting in front of City Hall, the second largest building in Death City, a looming tower of white and glass.

"It's a protest for Robot Rights." Mrs. Evans said gently. "I don't want to get caught up in this. Let's hurry, please."

"I agree." Seconded Nygus, looking concerned. The last time they had gotten caught up in a protest, well . . . that was the reason Nygus had cuts and bruises all over her skin, forcing her to cover them with bandages. Her robotic skin was too damaged to repair. It was ironic that attending a protest for robots had ended up with her getting hurt. Sid's skin had taken a different toll; when they fixed his skin (his injuries weren't as bad), it had turned blue!

Soul knew that his family supported Robot Rights, quite a liberal position, even compared to the anti-war protests that were taking place simultaneously. Nygus and Sid were treated like family members, not servants like he'd see on internet shows. Well, his parent's androids performed the jobs they were programmed for (decision-making and bodyguarding) but when they weren't they were people. Soul remembered his mother telling him when he was younger that androids like Nygus and Sid had "chores" to do.

As for what the movement actually was, from Soul's understanding it was simply that androids should be treated exactly the same as people, not servants.

The Evans family never attended the protests, not since what happened with Nygus. Mr. and Mrs. Evans preferred to have their own rules at home and would sign the papers when they came. Sometimes, though, when they'd have company. . .

Politics wasn't cool to think about! Soul mentally kicked himself for having these thoughts.

Maka constantly prodding and mimicking him wasn't cool either. Fine, fine, he could understand that _she's trying to be human, _but did she have to touch him so damn much?

"_Are we there yet?" _Soul whined, then realizing he sounded like a child. His parents must have deemed he was mature enough to own his own android—maybe shouldn't have said that. Speaking of, he was surprised that they would think this way, after what happened with the piano. . .

"We're here." Sid announced, unfazed. Sometimes he didn't catch sarcasm. That wasn't the type of android he was.

Most of Death City had been ruined in the bombing of WW3, but somehow the Evans Estate had survived. It looked very much like an old-fashioned castle, especially compared to the modern, skinny apartments that stood next to it, threatening to strangle the property line. Soul liked the look of the outside; it was scary, but in a good way, just like him. The inside, however, used to look like the outside, but they changed the furniture.

"Maka, this is home." Soul presented the castle. "Maka?"

"Give her time, Soul. It's only her first day outside the factory. She's trying her best to memorize everything she learns today." Nygus said. It was obvious she was feeling slightly maternal to the new robot. "This is part of Integration."

"Yeah. Hey, Maka, can you walk? I don't want to hold your hand forever!"

"Of course I can!" She said, and slowly mimicked Soul's slouching gait.

"Copy Nygus. That looks uncool when you do it." The human also took note of Maka's outfit—an old school uniform. Who wears that?

Soul then tortured himself by answering every question as he played tour guide around the house. If he didn't, the android would get persistent and poke him until he gave up and answered, "Yeah that leads to a closet." Hopefully the stubbornness wouldn't be part of her personality!

"OK, this is my room, and I think the one next to mine must be your room. Mom probably went in there to clean it up when I was showing you around."

"I get a room? My own room?"

"You get this room. Why do you say that like you're amazed?" Finally it was the human who asked the question.

"Oh. . ."

"It's fine; you can tell me. I'm your owner, after all."

"He calls himself my papa, that man you met. He used to be nice, but I heard that he was creating some female androids, andrwomen, just to . . . play with them. Then that woman, the one he called mama, started yelling at him. She was our Programmer."

"So he was cheating on his wife with _robots?" _Soul exclaimed, putting the pieces together.

"That's why he's _not _my papa!" his android said. "Soul?"

"What now?"

"You won't . . . play with me, will you?" She asked, scared.

Soul just laughed until tears came out of his eyes. "Who'd want to play with a robot with no chest?"

"Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"Soul! Maka! Dinner!" Mrs. Evans's voice ran downstairs.

Soul wiped the tears off his face and took the stairs two at a time. He was hungry, and he thought he smelled spaghetti! Minus the poking and never-ending questions, this would have been a perfect day.

At the table were placed three plates of pasta on one side and three boxes with extension cords attached to them to the other.

"We bought you an external charger in case you need a little more battery life." Nygus explained to the younger robot, who immediately copied Nygus and took the cord to attach it to her arm. Maka would take all of the battery power from this charger, and then bring it outside to hopefully catch some of the sun's rays; it was solar powered.

"My Creator said that I would charge automatically while in the sun."

"Creator?" Soul asked her. "Isn't that the same thing as a Programmer?"

"My Creator is the man who's NOT my Papa. An android's Creator is the one that built them. So I guess he's like my father. Their Programmer is the one that added their Programs and gave them their memory." Maka explained while Soul spun pasta on his fork. (After a dirty look from Nygus and his mother for table manners.) "There's a difference."

"Who is your Programmer?" Sid asked.

"Kami Albarn." Maka said proudly.


	3. Chapter 3

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 3

It was the fourth day since Maka's arrival and she was still acting completely crazy. She wouldn't leave Soul's side. Nygus tried to tempt her to stay away by promising to show her some things around the mansion, but it was all to no avail.

"Soul! Where are you going? You promised to show me the library today!"

The boy moodily shot her a death glare. "I just want some breakfast! Oh, stop crying. I'll take you there."

The robot smiled.

"Welcome to the Evans library, home of every single book you could ever, ever want to read." He said with the tone of a bored tour guide. It was a well-stocked bookshelf with tons of different kinds of books, from non-fiction to fiction, old classics to modern tales. A couch and coffee table were tucked into one corner.

"What are they about?" She asked excitedly.

"I dunno. Book stuff? I don't like reading. Here," he threw a history book at her, "read this. I'm hungry."

"OK!" For once, the robot left her owner's side.

…

"So Soul, you haven't decided what kind of android you want Maka to be." Mrs. Evans said conversationally as her son pushed food into his mouth.

"What _kind? _I thought there was just android kind." He said between bites.

"You know, like their primary function. Like Sid the bodyguard." The mother prompted.

"Hmm. Well, she'd make a terrible bodyguard by the way she's acting." He rolled his eyes. "I dunno. Maybe like Wes's android? He called her his assistant." Soul didn't see much of his older brother, much less his robot. He couldn't remember her name.

"Azusa is his agent. She gets him the venues that he plays at and handles his schedule. I don't think you need an android like that." Wes was a very talented violin player. Soul was pretty good at the piano himself (anyone who heard his attempt at the violin ran screaming), but he was trying _very _hard not to bring up the subject of pianos that may or may not have broken.

"Oh. Whatever."

"Soul! This book is AMAZING! You _have _to see this!" Maka's voice rang from upstairs.

"Guess that's for me." Soul sighed. "I guess Maka's just . . . there. My android."

The moment he reached the library, Soul's handheld communicator started vibrating. It was a video message from his friend from school, Death the Kid.

"Yo, Kid." Soul answered to the boy.

"Now that my house is perfectly symmetrical, do you want to play some basketball?"

"Anything to get out of this crazy house." He replied. AKA anything to get away from crazy Maka. She was still being clingy! In fact, she was looking over his shoulder now. "When did you get here?"

"Now."

"Who's that symmetrical beauty?" Ah, his OCD again. Even the wonders of modern medicine couldn't cure it. At least he wasn't killing things anymore.

"My android, and she won't _leave me alone_!" The last words were intended for Maka, of course. "I'm trying to talk to—hey!"

Maka grabbed the communicator and noticed, "Why do you have stripes on only one side of your head?"

"You're right! I'm garbage, useless garbage, I deserve to die!" he cried.

"Kid." Soul grabbed the gadget out of Maka's confused hands. "_KID. _It's just your hair, dude. The rest of you is symmetrical."

"Is he OK?" Maka wondered.

"Whatever you do, _don't _mention his hair. Got it?" Soul scolded. "Kid. I'll see you at the courts in, I don't know, five minutes?"

"No! Eight is better!" Kid got up and yelled at the communicator.

"Bye, Kid." Soul jumped down the stairs only to see his father coming in through the front door. "Hey dad. I'm going to play basketball." It was un-cool to inform your parents where you'd be, but Soul had learned from experience his paranoid father could get a little crazy. Even if it meant filing a missing persons report when he went to school.

"Take your android! She'll protect you if anything happens while you're outside!"

"I have a communicator, dad."

…

It didn't matter that Soul said he'd be fine. Maka followed him anyway.

"Hey," he scowled to his friends when he finally got there. He knew she was there. Maka wasn't very good at hiding.

"I invited my neighbor Tsubaki, who brought her android, Black*Star, and I brought my androids too." Kid informed him. "Liz and Patti-two! Symmetry at its best!"

"Aren't those the other androids I saw from Shibusen?"

"Black*Star! Liz! Patti! It's me, Maka!" Maka exclaimed, and the robots came together, talking excitedly.

"They aren't crazy clingy, are they?"

"It's just the opposite with Black*Star!" Tsubaki said. "I know the man said he had a few bugs, but I couldn't just leave him!" She sounded as if adopting a new pet.

"Liz and Patti were that way for the first day, but I think they were just adjusting to a new owner. They won't leave each other. They act like sisters."

Soul frowned. His was the only crazy one.

"Especially since they won't tell me what their life at Shibusen was like." Soul didn't realize Kid was still talking.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, our androids seem to know each other. So that means they must have been conscious when they were at Shibusen. Right?" Tsubaki said. "Kid and I were talking about this before you got here. I was just worried about how they won't talk about it."

"They're here now, so it doesn't matter." Soul scoffed, taking the basketball from Kid and took a shot at the hoop. He missed.

"I guess." Tsubaki responded, disapproving Soul's apathetic nature. She thought it was a big deal, especially when she saw how many robots were waiting for owners. It struck her as odd for some reason or another. It was part of the reason that she agreed to take Model 1111111 Black*Star.

When she had gone android shopping, Spirit commented on her age and offered her Black*Star. (Kid had bought Liz and Patti the day before.) He explained that she could take this model, or wait until he made a new one, which would take up to two months. Spirit was relieved she was taking the blue-haired android.

"Kiss him on the lips to start his artificial heart."

"Oh!" Tsubaki blinked. She pressed her lips on the android's, immediately waking him. Black*Star stood up quickly and started reciting a speech on how he was going to surpass God, ending with a loud YAHOO!

Tsubaki smiled; he was so lively!

And really good at basketball. Black*Star decided that he, the Godly one, was going to pick the teams. "Tsubaki, you're on my team, because you're almost as Godly as me!" The robot ran calculations in his head, statistically choosing sides that would be almost as equal in talent.

Team Black*Star:

Black*Star

Tsubaki

Patti

Team not Black*Star:

Liz

Soul

Kid

"Maka! You're on team not Black*Star! Maka!" Black*Star shouted to the other android, who was sitting on a bench, reading a book.

"I'm not playing. This book is more interesting."

"C'mon, Maka, you know the rules, don't you? I was Programmed with basic sports, and I'm not a brand-new model like you are." Liz said.

"I'm not." She admitted shyly.

The focus shifted dramatically from who was on which basketball team to Maka. Even Black*Star was concerned.

"Spirit said you were top-of-the-line." Soul remembered. "You were his latest model."

"He's a businessman too. He could have just said that to make her more appealing." Kid countered. "Maybe he just twisted the truth."

"He seemed pretty authentic to me, getting all depressed when I said I was going to take her." Soul rolled his eyes. Man, Spirit was such an idiot! Well, it certainly _was _possibly that Kid was right and those tears were lies, but Soul didn't think that was the case. No one could be that good of a liar, right?

Maka set her book down next to her and looked back up shyly. "I don't think they finished my Programming. There's so much stuff I feel that I should know already!"

"What are you Programmed in anyway? I wasn't paying attention to Spirit." Soul asked. Of course he wasn't.

"I am Programmed in basic Emotions, combat level one, native language English, basic coordination, etiquette two, day-to-day three, and tutoring in math, physics, biology, chemistry, history, technology, and 14 different languages." Maka recited.

"You're missing a lot, then." Liz said.

"What do we do? Is there any way we can get the rest of Maka's Programming? Can we take her to Spirit? Maybe she has a warranty." Tsubaki suggested.

"He said he doesn't fix androids, only makes them." Soul remembered the sign outside of the shop. _No androids past this point. I won't fix them! _"Though, you seem to be his favorite so maybe he'll make an exception."

"He can't. Only a robot's Programmer can fix that robot's Programming. If I want my Programming to be complete, I'd have to go back to Kami."

"OK then. Why don't we take you to Shibusen tomorrow and do that?"

"Tomorrow is Sunday; it's closed."

"Fine, the day after that, whatever." Soul took another shot and the ball snaked its way into the hoop.

…the next morning…

Soul turned his computer on, going straight onto the internet. He wanted to watch some cartoons to take his mind off things.

"It's me; can I come in?" There was a polite knock on the door.

"Oh. It's just you, Maka. Yeah."

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously, coming.

"Just watchin' some cartoons. Want to watch with me?" He said, knowing she'd probably do that anyway.

Maka pulled up a spare chair and peered over Soul's shoulder, who angled the computer so Maka could see better. "Hey, he looks like you!"

"Yeah, that's why I like this show. We even have the same name, isn't that cool? I like vintage anime, even if the animation's crap."

"She looks like me! What are we doing? Tell me!"

"Shh! The battle scene's starting!" Soul didn't really think about it, but his android matched the character on the show perfectly. It even had his friends in it. It was just coincidence, right? They made this anime how long ago?

"_Tell me!" _

Soul groaned and paused the video. Whatever. It needed to load anyway. He explained the mechanics of the show, how the dude that looked like him transformed and the two of them were going to fight a witch named Blair. He was rewatching the series.

"That sounds stupid." Maka commented.

"It's not stupid! It's just a _show." _

"It's still dumb."

Soul ignored her comment; he liked the action scenes. Anything he liked was cool anyway. He clicked PLAY and a commercial played. Damn. It was a news alert too. How boring!

"Death City news alert. Celebrated android Programmer Kami Albarn has gone missing. If you have any information please contact the police department ASAP. On another note, riots are starting all over town and are starting to resort to violence and kidnappings. Evidence suggests the two events are related." A news reporter said seriously and the anime played again.

"Kami!" Maka worried. "But we were going to see her tomorrow!"

A crash from downstairs; it sounded like the front door being kicked down. Glass broke and Soul heard voices.

"What's going on?" he wondered aloud. "Is that mom?" A woman's scream—there was definitely a fight going on downstairs. Sid's voice, telling them to duck while he played bodyguard.

Soul flew to the door. Despite his attitude, he cared deeply for his family and wouldn't want something to happen to them.

"Don't go downstairs." Maka said, combat program kicking in. "They're coming to kidnap your family because they're very rich and influential. We have to leave now!"

"But . . . my parents. . ."

"They'd rather you got away safely. Let's go!"

Oh! An actual plot! Despite what everybody says, I think Soul still cares for his family, deep down inside. Or maybe that's my "everyone-is-actually-a-good-guy-in-disguise" point of view talking again. Or, most likely, it's my "this-girl-can't-write-angst-to-save-her-life" side showing.

Anyway, I got to introduce more characters! Yay! And break the fourth wall! (always fun)


	4. Chapter 4

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 4

…"they'd rather you got away safely. Let's go!" Unfamiliar voices could be heard downstairs while Maka opened the window, threw Soul over her shoulder, and leaped. She landed with a bang and set an angry Soul down.

"What, are you crazy? We just jumped from the third floor! Do you want to get us killed?" he blared. Also, it wasn't cool to be lifted up by a girl, even if she was an android. It would be much cooler, Soul thought, for the guy to pick up a girl (preferably a hot one) during a moment of crisis. They'd get away just in time to dodge the explosion, too. In short, an action movie.

"Shh," Maka hissed. "Where are we going to go?"

The human peeked around the corner to see a black hovercraft zooming away. Where could they go that was safe? And close, since Soul didn't know how to drive their craft. He had an old-fashioned motorcycle in the garage, but it wasn't finished yet; he'd been collecting old parts to put it back together.

"Kid's house. Then I'm calling the police." He was grateful he still had his communicator in his back pocket. It might come in handy. "And please don't carry me again." They began to walk.

…

Soul remembered walking to Kid's house back when they were still in elementary school. They were best friends, even if sometimes Kid wanted to rip out Soul's unsymmetrical hair. The two were always in the same class at school, and only lived a few streets away from each other. (Kid lived on the 8th street, house number 888, easy enough to remember)

Of course, Soul was always escorted by a family member when he wanted to walk over there. (Stupid dad!) Even worse was that he was driven to school, so uncool when you lived only a couple of blocks away!

Soul remembered one day in the 2nd grade when he was dropped off at school, and his father called after him, "Stay safe, son!"

Soul replied, "You are _so uncool, _Dad!" as he sneaked inside, embarrassed. Nygus scolded him later for his bad grammar (Uncool isn't a word, Soul. You should say, that was not cool) but his new catch phrase was born.

Unsymmetrical wasn't a word either, but that made it cool.

The next day, after his little . . . outburst . . . Soul found Kid organizing the school supply cabinet. He asked the boy what he was doing, and Kid said, "It was unsymmetrical! I have to fix it!"

Elementary school student Soul was impressed by the long word that the boy said, and it also reminded him of what Nygus said about bad grammar.

"That sounds cool. Do you want some help?"

And their friendship began.

…

Death the Kid, known as Kid, lived in what was essentially a big cube made out of housing material. The roof was littered with solar panels to collect any amount of sunlight that came out of the laughing sun, and the back had some large ceiling-to-floor windows. It was always fun at his house, because he had a pool in his backyard. Well, most people did, they lived in a desert, but the Evans fortress was too old.

Soul knocked on the front door. Well, more like slammed. The door got no mercy from him! Maka stood patiently next to her owner, hoping he'd calm down.

Finally the door opened, revealing a very confused Death the Kid. "What's wrong?"

"My parents were just kidnapped, that's what's wrong! Maka and I ran over here 'cause I thought it would be safer."

"Why?" Kid asked calmly, and let them both in.

"Maka says it's 'cause they're rich but—" Soul took a deep breath. "I should calm down."

"And influential!" Maka added. "It's the rioters that took them. It was on the news this morning!"

"Soul, don't worry, once they realize your parents support Robot Rights they'll let them go. You don't hold someone ransom if they're on the same side." He explained logically.

"You know about that?" Soul never told Kid about his parents' views, even if they were best friends. One, it was uncool to talk about politics, let alone your parents, and two, Rights was almost taboo. One mention might stir up a brawl in the right company.

Kid sighed. He knew about Soul's family, but never said that he knew. It wasn't that Soul had lied to him, because he just never said anything. He understood why. There was another kid in their class whose parents worked for them, and he had gotten teased. A teacher had even been fired for being biased in her history class. That's just how serious it was.

Kidnapping, however, was crossing the line. Especially that it was someone so personal.

Soul whipped out his communicator and dialed 9-1-1.

"Hello?

"Uh, yes, my name is Soul Evans, my parents were kidnapped—

"Oh, so, you're taking care of it?

"Huh? What? Hello? _Hello?" _The boy turned back to the others. "I think there's something bigger going on here."

"What do you mean?" Maka asked, worried. "I don't understand. First Kami, now your parents, including Nygus and Sid! Why would they take them too? They didn't do anything either!" Robots, it seemed, did share a concern for one another. Or maybe it was just the family aspect that Nygus, Sid, and Maka had created amongst themselves in the short time Maka had been there.

"They just hung up on me. And I could hardly hear what they were saying anyway. They heard my name and starting mumbling!"

Liz and Patti, who had come into the room to see what all the fuss was about, decided to turn on the news to see if there was any new information. "Hey guys! There's been another release! It's about the rioters!" Liz called and clicked PLAY.

"The police have found a common piece of evidence in each of the crime scenes of the kidnappings. Each home contains a note: 'FIND KAMI.'"

"So it all leads back to Kami. They were right. It's all connected." Kid said. "That's that then. We're going to have to find her."

Authors note: SQUEAL~! Soul and Kid in elementary school! SO CUTE! *hugs them to death* Kind of a short chapter, but hopefully next chapter will be longer. "SOUL? KID? Did I hug you too hard?" *passed out*


	5. Chapter 5

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 5

…"The police have found a common piece of evidence in each of the crime scenes of the kidnappings. Each home contains a note: 'FIND KAMI.'"

"So it all leads back to Kami. They were right. It's all connected." Kid said. "That's that then. We're going to have to find her."

"Alright, but where do we look?" Soul asked sarcastically. Everyone else was looking for her too; could they honestly do any better?

No one had an answer to that question. Maka stood, frowning as she tried her best to access her memory. Was there a clue about Kami? She remembered her talking to her to make sure the language software was installed correctly . . . another time Maka only remembered her yelling voice. It was at night, a new experience for Maka because every day at ten would all of the robots fall asleep. Connected to their machines, Kami or Spirit would stop by to turn them off row by row.

There was another memory Maka had of Kami. She was talking to Spirit again—no, it was more of an angry whisper. It was outside of the robot room, but the door wasn't all the way closed. "You _told _them? Do you realize what you've _done? _You've jeopardized _everything; _hell, they might even kill me over this!"

"Look, Kami dear, I was drunk, they won't believe me—"

"Oh, like the last time you were drunk while I was working on that tutoring Program? You're lucky I was able to finish the damn thing before it became mass-produced! Exactly how many times have I saved this business from going under? It's no wonder we have so many androids waiting here to be bought! And yet you keep building new ones, even for yourself! Yes, don't look at me like I don't know. I know you make andrwomen behind my back."

"Kami, it was for the sake of Shibusen—" Spirit tried to argue.

"To dabble in the black market? Those poor robots!"

"I _didn't _put artificial hearts in them, I SWEAR! They're just dolls, Kami, dolls that don't know any better—"

"I've had enough with this. I don't care what you say about staying here where I'm safe or whatever excuse you'll make this time. I'm leaving. Good _bye." _

The door slammed. Maka didn't want to remember anymore.

Meanwhile, Liz and Patti whispered to each other, and then seemed to have decided on something. The elder sister said to the others, "We know someone in town who might help us. It's not exactly the . . . safest . . . part of town, but she's a friend of ours."

"It's the only lead we have." Kid said, suddenly taking over a leadership role. "But I think we've got safety in numbers. Should we see if Tsubaki and Black*Star want to help us?"

"Sure." Soul said. "You're probably right."

…

The gang snuck onto the main street where everything seemed to be located. It was . . . dingy, very different from the downtown area where Soul's school was, or the residential area where the basketball court was. It was quiet on the street itself, only a few robots walking around, but it was obvious that things were going on behind the scenes, in the alleys and backrooms. The humans were glad their androids came with a basic combat program in case something happened.

"It's that one, right sis?" Patti asked her sister. It was cute how they started referring to each other as their sisters. Of course, they technically weren't because they were robots, but Kid sometimes said that they acted like that, so it stuck. Liz was the older, protective sister and Patti was the energetic younger sister.

"Yep." Liz confirmed.

"Are you sure about this?" Maka asked.

The group entered the store, which was empty except for a female android behind the counter. It looked like they sold spare parts here. The robot looked up, noticed Liz and Patti, and waved briefly.

Maka immediately went up to the salesbot. "Excuse me, but do you happen to know anything about Kami the Programmer?"

"Kami? The one who disappeared?"

"Yes, that's her."

In the background, Tsubaki was calming down her android, making sure he didn't make a mess of things as he looked around.

"All I know is that she ran away because of her husband's andrwomen fetish. He's the current Creator, right?"

"Do you know anything else?" Maka pressed.

"_Get away from my merchandise!" _She snapped to the blue-haired android, who was rummaging through some bins of screws. "I know someone who does, but. . ."

"But what?"

"Those are _owners, _aren't they?" She hissed angrily, surprising Soul. What did she have against humans that was so disturbing?

"They want to help. But first we have to find Kami!" Maka explained desperately. She didn't want to lose this lead just because she brought a human with her.

"Listen. I like you; you're a nice kid. I want to find Kami too. But the guy who you're gonna have to talk to, he doesn't want to see any owners. And he can tell even better than I can who's a robot and who's not."

The boy raised his red eyes in surprise. Why would this dude not want to see humans? Was he a robot who'd been mistreated, perhaps?

"How?"

The salesbot smiled. "You're gonna need some help from me. Come to the back room."

"Thanks!" Maka said excitedly. Soul nodded in agreement.

Everyone snuck into the room as the bot changed the sign from OPEN to CLOSED and turned off the lights. "These are some old prototypes, but they still function." She said, opening a box. "They're vests that make your human heart beat appear like an artificial heart beat."

"Like a bullet-proof vest, except it changes what your heartbeat looks like?" Soul asked.

"Sure, something like that." The android gave the three owners the heartbeat vests, who were instructed to put them on under their clothes. If they didn't, it would be pretty obvious what they were, especially since they were a bright, neon green color.

"How can we repay you?" Maka asked. She hoped it wasn't too expensive; the three teenagers didn't have a lot of money with them. Soul had five bucks that he found mashed in his pocket, Tsubaki had a few dollars in her wallet, and Kid had exactly eight dollars worth in one's. Not enough to pay for heartbeat vests.

"Just find Kami." She said. "The man you need to talk to is named Dr. Franken Stein. He lives near the edge of town. You'll recognize the house by its stitches. Be very careful. If he finds out you're humans, well, I don't know exactly what he'd do."

"So he's an android?" Tsubaki spoke.

"No, he's a human. I don't know why he doesn't like other humans, no one does, but just keep those vests on and I think you'll be OK. Good luck."

…

Once they reached the house, Soul quickly realized how much luck they needed. It was dark by the time they got there, which definitely didn't help the creepy atmosphere. But yes, they recognized it by the stitches, just as the robot had said. The house was covered with them, as if someone sewed the place together.

He rang the doorbell.

"Maybe he's not home?" Maka asked hopefully after a minute or so of silence. "We could always come back in the morning!"

Soul rang it again.

The door opened dramatically, revealing a tall man in a lab coat, also covered in stitches. What a fashion statement! He stared at his visitors, as if looking for something, but eventually said, "What do you want?"

"We heard from friend you know something about Kami Albarn."

"Oh, yes, come on in."

Soul could see Kid clenching his fists and sweat dropping from his forehead. Oh. The room that Stein had led the group in wasn't symmetrical, but he didn't want to freak out and give away their identity as humans. Why didn't they just leave him behind as soon as they saw the house?

"So, Kami . . . you're not the first group who've asked about her whereabouts. So I'll tell you what I told them: I know where she is, but I can't help you get there. A bunch of androids pretending to work for Robot Rights have captured her. They want her to create a Program, called the Ultimate Program, that would give the androids enough edge to defeat the humans." Stein said casually. "They've taken her to their HQ in Rome. It'll be hard work finding where the HQ is, but I'm sure with Model Maka's new Perception Program you'll manage."

"Actually, I can't. Kami never downloaded the Perception Program on me. She left before that . . . or I guess possibly got captured before, if what you said is true." The Program they were both talking about was to be used to find people. Or robots, for that matter. It could sense heartbeats, real or artificial, from a ½ mile radius. "But we'll find it!"

Stein pitied the young, optimistic android, thinking she could do the impossible. It was a big city. She might even be underground! Luckily, Maka had a group of friends to help her . . . friends who were awfully suspicious . . .

"Thank you, Mr. Stein," Tsubaki said, bowing politely. The others followed suite a few moments afterward, and turned on their heels to leave the creepy house.

"Wait. You three. You're human, aren't you?" Dr. Stein's temper flared, "You're here to criticize my work, _aren't you?"_

"What are you talking about?" Soul asked, not losing his cool. His inner instincts were telling him to get the hell out of this laboratory, but for everyone's sake, he had to remain level-headed. They got the information they needed. Now that Soul thought about it, it was almost _too _easy to get Stein to tell them.

"Humans! They don't understand!" The man twisted the giant screw that went through his head a few times. "That's why I had to experiment on myself; no one would fund my research! That's why I'm _half android." _

Authors note: gasp! Once I started writing this I knew what I'd do for Stein…


	6. Chapter 6

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 6

"What the hell? You're half android?" Soul exclaimed as Dr. Stein twisted the screw that pierced his skull. Oh, that must be why his skin was covered in stitches . . . he'd been opening himself up and replacing his body parts.

"Yes, I'm half android. I replaced all of my limbs with unused robotic ones. Of course I haven't been able to find a working artificial heart that might replace mine, but I think Model Maka's might do. . ."

Maka squeaked at the thought of having her heart removed, uncharacteristically hiding behind Soul.

"Why don't you make your own artificial heart? Or go buy one from Shibusen?" Kid suggested, taking his focus off the asymmetry of the room.

"Only a Creator can make a heart, and my face isn't allowed in the walls of that accursed building. No, no, it is much better if I take yours. . ." Stein chuckled to himself.

"You're not taking it!" Soul said bravely, and something occurred to his android.

"Those parts of yours, they're parts of the other robots that asked about Kami!"

"Smart girl, smart girl." Stein eyed the android's chest.

_Click-clack! _What was the source of that noise? It was Liz and Patti, who had transformed their arms into guns! "We'll shoot. Don't get any closer. You guys get outta here!" They said together.

"Uh . . . guys?" Tsubaki said. "What's going on?"

The gang looked around to see security robots march towards them, coming from every direction. They came in various shapes and sizes, but all shared the patchwork pattern that Stein favored. In fact, he probably made them himself.

One particularly large on advanced to Tsubaki, and Black*Star jumped to her rescue with a few fighting moves of his own. The other androids soon joined in on the battle.

"He's getting away!" Kid noticed.

"He's not our main concern. Let's destroy these and leave." Maka argued. She too was Programmed with the combat arts and with the help of Black*Star, Liz, and Patti the battle was over quickly. It was definitely a relief to get out of Stein's lab.

"Now what?" Soul said after they ran a respectable distance.

"We go to Italy, right?" Maka answered.

"How?"

"No clue."

"My father owns a plane." Kid said.

"Some vacation." Soul responded sarcastically. It was a stupid plan, yes, but that was their only option. "You really think he'll let us use it?"

Kid smiled. "Who said I was going to ask?"

"Now you're talkin'!" Now _this _was exactly what should have happened earlier when Maka and he jumped out the window—stealing a plane was definitely something that could be included in an action movie. Soul had always wanted to star in a film like that. Jump off some buildings, maybe dodge some bullets. . . The thought momentarily distracted him of the situation at hand.

"We'll meet at my house tomorrow morning. Be packed and ready to go! But first, since when did you two have _guns _stashed in your arms?" Kid asked the sisters.

"Spirit sold us as personal androids, but we're not. Haven't you ever heard about us? The Thompson sisters?"

"Kid's never heard of us, Kid's never heard of us!" Patti chanted. Liz shushed her.

"Look, I'll tell you our story. OK, we were both personal androids in the same household. Our owners threw us out when we got old. So we had to fend for ourselves. We even got mixed up in the red-light district . . . bad times."

"I'm sorry." Kid said.

"Yeah. One of our frequent buyers offered us a deal: he'd give us weapons to defend ourselves if we, um, took care of someone he didn't like. Patti and I figured it was better than being andrwomen, so we became assassins. We were pretty good at it too, until one day we got caught. I guess it was bound to happen eventually."

"Who?"

"Spirit Albarn!" Patti piped up. "He fixed us up a bit to make us fit to be personal androids again, but he forgot about the guns!"

"Why did he want to kill Spirit?" Tsubaki asked curiously. She was a gentle soul, and didn't believe in killing. She asked this question very delicately.

"Sorry, he never told us why he wanted people dead. We just followed orders."

"'Cause that's what you do when you're an assassin!" Black*Star agreed. He had some sort of problem whenever the word assassin came up. Luckily it wasn't a word used often. Currently he was bouncing up and down excitedly, singing about how he wanted to be the best assassin ever and surpass God.

"_Anyway,"_—Liz had no time for Black*Star's antics—"Spirit changed us, and we were very glad you bought us out of _that _hell-hole."

Everyone including the other androids turned their heads over to Liz after that statement. Hell-hole? Was she talking about Shibusen? The three humans were confused and surprised—very much so. However, it was Maka who spoke first.

"Great, Liz, now we gotta go. Right now!"

"What? We can take after ourselves, after that little brawl we had with Stein." She said, aloof. "You too, Maka, your combat program is excellent! I don't know why you complain about not having all the right programs."

"It's going to be a lot more than a bunch of security robots if we don't leave now."

"Sis, maybe we _should _go." Patti said quietly. It was unusual for her to suggest that, as they would say, hightail it out of there, so she was serious. "Lotsa stuff is going on, and we're supposed to protect our Owner now."

Her older counterpart took a heavy sigh, an odd gesture. Androids didn't need to breathe, of course! They did have the capacity to; breathing out might relieve heat generated in their bodies. "Fine. Let's go."

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" The humans said almost at the same time. "Why right now?"

"We'll tell you on the way. Now where's that plane you spoke of, Kid?"

a/n Hehehe Soul, dodging bullets Matrix style! I can totally see it. Now, if Soul was Neo, who would be Morpheus? …I would say Shinigami but he doesn't do serious and cryptic. That's why we love him! 3

oh yeah, everybody's asking about Kid…I changed my mind half way through writing about the plane. He owns the plane.


	7. Chapter 7

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 7

"Should we really be letting _Black*Star _be flying the plane?" Soul asked, worried for their safety and possibly for their sanity by the way the blue-haired android was laughing as he held the steering wheel. Something about how the higher they flew, the closer he was to surpassing God or whatever.

"Yes. I'm not Programmed to know how, and Liz needs to help me explain what of a '_hell hole', _her words, Shibusen is." Wow. Maka's Emotion Program was taking full effect . . . it now appeared like she was really angry at Liz! Soul couldn't blame her; it seemed like Liz had given away a really big secret by saying that Shibusen wasn't as good a place as they thought.

Liz did not bother to respond to Maka's snap. "It used to be a cool place, y'know, being known for creating the best androids in the world? Back in the day, androids could brag to others that they came from Shibusen. But ever since the founding of Gorgon Androids and Arachnophobia, Shibusen has become more about the money than creating quality androids."

"It's true! Kami used to stay up all night making new Programs, muttering that they'd be better than their competitors. And because of all the changes, there are so many robots that haven't been sold yet. Didn't you notice when you came in how many there were? Spirit offered you us four because he couldn't find anyone who wanted to buy us. Well, me he just wanted to keep, but you get the point." Maka said.

"Becoming more capitalistic does not automatically make your business a disaster zone." Kid said intelligently. He was always one to whip out a few more-than-three-syllable words in normal, everyday speech. "It can motivate a company to produce better-quality products."

"Yeah, but Spirit and Kami took it a little too seriously. I think they forgot that we're not just fancy action figures in a toy store. We have hearts too! Even if they are artificial . . . and we have feelings, too. All the robots that got outdated were practically thrown away. Some of them actually were." Maka said softly. She knew some of those robots personally. Her Emotion program was not installed yet, but if it had been, she would have been very hurt and upset.

"We're always afraid that we're the next robot to be outdated." Liz summed up. "There's only enough room in the store for so many androids, and the newest ones have to be there. We lose at least one robot a week."

"That's terrible!" Tsubaki exclaimed.

"I was next." Black*Star said.

"No way!"

"I was sneaking around, like a good assassin would!" He bounced up and down excitedly at the mention of his favorite word. "There was a list!"

"Oh, Black*Star…" Tsubaki embraced her android.

"S'okay, Tsubaki. You saved me!"

"Black*Star, fly the plane!" Maka shouted, spoiling the moment, but saving their lives all the same. Tsubaki let go of Black*Star, who took back the wheel, and the plane stabilized.

"Inside of us, there's a chip that records our conversations. Spirit hooked it up to a computer so if we spilled the beans, he'd come after us and replace the android. He'd claim that was dysfunctional so he'd replace it." Liz said. "Therefore, what we're saying now is being recorded. He can't do anything to us outside of the country, so we'll be safe in Italy when we get there."

"Sounds like Spirit is a really bad guy." Soul said. He was feeling a little conflicted—who was the real villain here? His parent's kidnappers? The robots that Stein said betrayed the Robot Rights group? EVERYONE? As much as he loved movies with a cool conspiracy, being caught up in one wasn't his cup of tea.

…

Black*Star landed the plane not-so-gracefully at the airport and immediately the gang piled out.

"Bigger question. Where're the Robot Rights people staying?" Soul asked. "Maka?"

"Oh, if only I had the Perception program! Kami was going to give it to me, but she was kidnapped first! If I had it, I'd be able to find them in no time. . ."

"I'll go ask someone. Be right back." Liz said, searching for a fellow robot. It wouldn't be proper for someone else's android to address another human. This was exactly what the Robot Rights people stood for.

"Excuse me," She asked in perfect Italian, "Do you know where the Robot Right building is?"

The other android, an black-haired man with an unpleasant expression on his face answered, "Which one?"

"There are two?"

"The official and the _real _one, idiot." Obviously this android had no polite programming in him.

"The real one."

The robot quickly whispered the address because his owner was shouting, "GOPHER! Come here, NOW!"

"Yes, Noah-sama. . ." He slithered away before Liz could ask any more questions.

"Okay," Liz muttered, and repeated the information to the group. "Let's go."

…

"An abandoned church? That's where the Robot Rights Headquarters is?"

"That's what that android said, and it's impossible for us to lie." Liz said. She paused. "There is a high possibility that we might not return if we go in there. Are we still going in?"

"Yes." Soul replied dramatically, and finally got his moment to star in an action film by kicking the door open. _Ow…that kind of hurt…let's not do that again…_he decided.

It was a large church, full with many rows of pews and a wide aisle in the middle. Soul understood that it might be a good hiding location, but where was the secret door leading to the basement? Or maybe a button that reveals a hidden ladder? Maybe he should stop fantasizing about being a movie star.

"The symmetry of this room! Look at how these benches are perfectly aligned! The same distance apart from each other both horizontally and vertically!"—the others blocked Kid's happy moment out—"wait. This painting right here. I must fix it!"

Kid adjusted the painting by the smallest of centimeters, causing a trapdoor to appear underneath his feet.

"Who would have thought Kid's OCD would actually come in handy? Let's go, everybody!"


	8. Chapter 8

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 8

The basement was a sharp contrast to the church. It possessed the same hospital-like feeling that Shibusen had when the three humans were purchasing their androids. Quiet and sterile. The gang was lucky that they didn't run into anyone in the hallways, which, since they were unmarked, had the feel of a maze. All the doors they found were empty. Was no one there?

Voices. The group paused. "It's from the room two doors down." Maka announced softly, and they held their breath trying to listen in. Maka went as far as sneaking a few glances into the room. Two androids were arguing next to two humans, who were both blond-haired women. "Kami." She whispered, suppressing the urge to immediately run in.

"The Programmers wouldn't keep the Program on a computer; they knew that we'd be able to hack into it and find the files there." A robot said.

"Zip drive? It would be portable and they could keep it on them at all times. Or hide it."

"Again, we could hack it. Unless . . . she already programmed it into a robot." The two androids looked suspiciously at the two Programmers, whose eyes were widened. They'd figured it out! "But it would have a password to activate it. It would have to be an advanced robot to be able to hold all that data. It would be another android."

"There are tons of new androids made every day!" The other one protested.

"A special android."

Maka couldn't handle waiting outside to eavesdrop any longer. Kami needed help! She rushed into the room where Kami and the other woman, whose blonde hair braided in the front to meet under her chin, were being kept.

"Model Maka!" Kami said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I think we've found the android." One said.

"C'mon, Maka!" Soul and the others shouted.

Maka reluctantly left Kami and her friend, dodging the grabs nimbly as she and the others started to run. Unfortunately, alarms sounded, and suddenly they were surrounded with guardsbots, all containing gun-hands like Liz and Patti. They struggled against them, they really did, even the humans tried (unsuccessfully) to punch and kick their way out, but it was to no avail, and soon Maka was separated from the group, and Soul and the others were being dragged off. . .

…

Soul didn't remember falling unconscious, but whatever happened, he woke up in a different place.

"Huh? What happened?" He sat up slowly. His head ached. Examining his surroundings, he could see that he was trapped in a large room filled to the brim with people.

"Soul! You're awake!" Tsubaki sighed of relief. She was worried for Soul, who didn't wake up right away. She hoped he didn't have a concussion or anything worse than that.

"Tsubaki? Where are we? Who are these people? I'm confused."

"These are all of the people involved in Robot Rights. They told me that their androids betrayed them and put them in here."

"And _why _would they do that? They're giving rights to them! And why do they need Maka?"

"Let me explain," said a man near them, "My name is Sam Shields, president of Robot Rights. This lady next to me is my wife, Nicole, the vice-president. And yes, we have been betrayed from our robot friends. We told them we were looking for the Ultimate Program and wanted it to themselves."

"What's the Ultimate Program?" Soul replied.

"The Ultimate Program, codenamed Black Blood, contains all of the Programs previously made, but it is not perfected yet. It gives the robot programmed with it a certain insanity mode, shall we say. It gains too much knowledge and power for it to handle and often self-destructs. The robots who want it want its power so they can start an attack on all humans."

"Who the hell would make a stupid Program like that, if it makes the robot self-destruct?"

"Kami from Shibusen and Medusa from Gorgon Androids. They worked together to create it." This time Nicole spoke. "That's why they sent out messages to everyone involved with Robot Rights to find Kami or Medusa, whoever was closest. So it wasn't a ransom note that was given to your parents."

"OK, but why was there a fight downstairs? Maka and I ran away from home!" Soul was getting frustrated now. "Besides, they told me they supported you but weren't involved in your cause! Where are they?"

Sam and Nicole looked at each other. "You're the son of James and Victoria Evans, correct? It must have been a mistake then. They dropped out of our cause when their androids had an accident, and the robots sent a message anyway. Maybe there was a struggle."

"Where are they, then?"

"Your friend went looking for them. They're in this room somewhere. We're in a warehouse connected to our building. It's pretty big."

"SOUL!" A woman's voice screeched.

"Mom?"

"Oh Soul, my baby boy, I am so glad you're OK. . ." Mrs. Evans ran up to her son and hugged him before Soul could do anything.

"MOM! Can't breathe!"

"Sorry . . . it's just that I was so worried about you."

"Yeah, I was worried too." Soul admitted. "Hey Dad, where are Sid and Nygus?" Luckily Mr. Evans didn't attack his son like his wife did.

"A separate room, I think. They took all of our androids away, all of the ones that decided to stay with us humans. It's really only a few androids that started the violence. All the rest of us really do just want to protest peacefully.

"Just like they taught us in school, peaceful protesting gave a lot of people equal rights before the Great War." Tsubaki put in. "Isn't that right, Mr. Shields?"

"Exactly," He said. "That's why we wanted to contact Kami Albarn and Medusa Gorgon, to tell them to stop making the Black Blood Program."

"My android is Programmed with the Black Blood. They're experimenting on her right now, probably trying to activate it or something."

They all fell silent. "We need to get out of here, now."


	9. Chapter 9

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 9

It sucks, and it's SOOOOoooo OOC. Beware.

CLICK-CLACK BANG!

Everybody instinctively ducked and squinted their eyes as the wall burst open. Three robots stood there; Liz and Patti with their arm-guns out, and Black*Star, who was using his strength to make the hole even larger.

"Liz! Patti!"

"Black*Star!"

"Yeah, we came to save you guys. Right on time, I'm guessing." Liz said, immune to the obvious anxiety.

"Yep; Maka's in trouble, and we need to go get her."

"I calculated that the best plan is for us to go grab Maka while you guys get out. We brought all of the other androids; they know where to go." Liz continued, and rounded up Soul, Tsubaki, and Kid.

"Good luck, son." Soul's father said.

"Thanks, Dad."

Sid and Nygus gave them a brief wave before they traced their steps to go save Maka.

…

When they reached the laboratory, they could hear frustrated voices. Apparently they were trying to hack the password that activated the Black Blood. Fortunately for them, Kami and Medusa had picked a difficult password, so the group was able to rush in.

They were a few seconds too late.

"I've got it. The password is C-H-R-O-N-A."

The moment this password was spoken, all hell broke loose for Maka. Her focus seemed strange, and she flailed her limbs around. Even Soul took a step back.

"Project codename Black Blood activated. Program written by Kami Albarn and Medusa Gorgan. Written May twelfth, 2042. Summary: contains all programs known to date. Provides easier access to all files. Engage. ERROR ERROR ERROR. Cannot process." She spoke in a monotone voice.

The others watched carefully as her brain seemed to explode with information. She muttered nonsense words, some stuff that sounded like other languages, and other random facts that didn't really go with the situation.

"Waltzing, level 3, engaged. Commence." She danced with an invisible partner all around the room, banging into various technological instruments. "Martial arts, level 5, engaged. Commence." Now she fought with imaginary opponents. All in all, the room was being destroyed. The others ducked as sometimes she threw objects.

"The lab! It's being torn apart!" An alarm sounded. "The prisoners have escaped!" _That _was the least of their worries! Model Maka was grinning their way.

"RUN!" The two robots ran, but it was too late; the Ultimate Program had given her super speed as well.

"Soul, we should get out of here; the place is collapsing as we speak!"

"Not without Maka!"

At the mention of her name, Model Maka put down the computer she was in the process of trashing and rounded on Soul. "The doors only open inward, don't they? The doors only open inward! I can't deal with these planets spinning around my head! I don't have time for astronomy! Who is this? Does he open inward? Let's find out!"

_Plug this into her. It's a hacking device only Creators and Programmers can use. It will allow you to become one with Maka. Once you're there, convince her to come back somehow. I don't know what will happen, but if you fail she will self destruct and kill us all!_

Soul bravely held his ground as Maka ran towards him. In a quick millisecond, he grabbed on to her arm and attached the device. . .

. . .and woke up in a strange, circular room. The walls were a cream color, and blue pillars held up candles.

"Soul." Maka said from behind him.

"Maka! There you are! We gotta get back—"

"It's safe here."

"Maka, you're being controlled by the Black Blood. The Ultimate Program." Soul explained. "How do we get out of this room?"

"The exit is inside this box. It's where my Artificial Heart is. If you open it, it will negate the program but I will be shut down. My memories might not be saved properly. I might lose them all! Or worse—I might not to be able to come back at all! It's like hitting Control-Alt-Delete on a computer." She showed him a small box, the size of two fists, which was locked.

"If we don't get out of here you will self destruct. If we open the box, you have a chance." He argued. They bickered for a while, but in the end Maka gave up and gave the box to Soul.

"It's your decision then."

"But it's locked!"

"You have the key. You're a Creator. Only Creators can use them. That's why you have to be one if you want to make an Artificial Heart."

Ignoring the mini-lesson, Soul discovered that she was right; in his hand was a key which appeared to match the box's lock. "I'm going to open this. You ready?"

Maka nodded solemnly. Soul fit the key in the lock and turned the key…

…and woke up back in the lab. He and Maka lay on the ground, their friends huddled around them. Pushing himself up, Soul unplugged the hacking device and turned Maka back over on her back. She didn't wake up.

"Maka?"

Authors notes continued: I see a lot of fic's about the Black Room, but none about the room with the key from the anime. So I decided to use that instead. Maybe that's why it's so OOC. But Soul's box totally says "MAKA" on it! IT'S PROOF THEIR LOVE IS CANON! …sorry, did I just go all fangirl again? I apologize. Stay tuned for the tenth and final chapter of Model 4242564 Maka!


	10. Chapter 10

Model 4242564 Maka

Phase 10

8 years later…

_Liz and Patti_

"Are you sure you want to go back in there, sis?" Patti said to her "sister" as they neared the neighborhood that housed the red-light district that they knew so well.

"We have to. It's our mission to free all of the andrwomen there." Liz said dutifully. "We've been training for this for a long time now." It was true; they had signed up for this, no matter how personal a matter it was.

The first thing they saw when they snuck in was a bunch of andrwomen standing up on the dreaded auction table. Exactly how many times were they put up on there? Liz couldn't help but calculate it.

They entered the room nonchalantly and made sure to load their gun-arms dramatically so everyone could hear: "You're under arrest."

_Death the Kid_

Kid made sure his office was perfectly symmetrical before he began his paperwork. He had finally inherited his father's company, Shibusen. He promised to take better care of it than that no-good Spirit did. It was a major mistake on Kid's father's part to give Shibusen to Spirit before his own son. Now that Spirit was in jail for dealing with andrwomen, it was time for Kid to take charge.

His first move (after cleaning the place up, of course) was to remove that sign that said they wouldn't fix robots anymore. In fact, Kid decided that repairing be the main focus of Shibusen from now on. They would still make robots, but they would be given free will, as the Amendment decreed. Robots were no longer servants; they had full rights now.

Business shot up quickly. After the brand-new Free Will Program was introduced, everyone came into Shibusen to get it. It was free, and apparently a good advertising move because now everyone came to Shibusen to get parts repaired. That wasn't to say Shibusen was all about money anymore, but in the end it was still a company. Just with good intentions this time around.

_Tsubaki and Black*Star_

"Me? A Programmer?" Tsubaki remembered saying to Kami two years ago.

"Yes! I can sense you have the ability to do so. It's a talent that not many people possess. You also studied general Coding in University, I heard?"

"That was my major, but I'm not sure—"

"You'd be great at it, Tsubaki!" Black*Star, now free of bugs, said. He stayed with his Owner after everything had happened as a sort of companion. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, she trusted his judgment.

"OK."

And here she was, blushing modestly as they called her name and the audience cheered. Black*Star held her hand in reassurance as she climbed the steps to the stage.

A Peace Prize for coding the Free Will Program. Androids and humans alike smiled as she shyly gave a speech thanking her friends and family.

_Soul_

Maka still lay unmoving, no matter what he did. He was a Creator, damn it! Why couldn't he fix her? It was easy fixing all of the others, even Black*Star's faulty wiring, but years and he still couldn't figure it out.

"Soul." Kid's entrance startled him a bit.

"What."

"Maybe this job is too personal for you. Perhaps you should hand Model Maka to another Creator to fix. You know, like doctors. They aren't allowed to treat family and friends."

"No." He turned away from Kid and back to his "patient".

"But Soul, be reasonable—"

"I can do this."

"You should at least get some rest." Kid frowned. Soul didn't respond to his suggestion—or was it an order?—so he decided to leave. "I'm sorry, Soul."

In the silence, Soul fiddled with the inner workings of Maka's open skull.

"What if I-?" He messed around a little bit more.

Satisfied, he closed the cavity and pressed the power button on her arm. Nothing happened. His hopeful eyes fell once more.

"Why can't I do this? It should have been simple enough, clean out to mess the Black Blood made, have Tsubaki fix her Programming, but why can't I fit all of the pieces together? What am I missing?" Soul banged his forehead against the wall in frustration. "Crap . . . dizzy. . ."

…

Suddenly, he wasn't in his workshop, but out in the large room where the robots stayed. It wasn't light and airy, either, it was full of the beds and machines like it had been when he first got Maka in the first place.

Soul watched a younger version of himself walk in with Spirit, looking around curiously.

"You're young. I'm going to offer you one of these four." Spirit said, taking Younger Soul to the end of the row. "Well, actually those two come as a set. I fixed them—I usually don't—but they won't leave each other's side."

"Model 1111111 Black*Star is a little faulty, but he might make a good friend for you." Younger Soul pulled a face.

"And the girl?"

"Model 4242564 Maka! Oh, I love her!"

"I'll take her."

"What?" Spirit paused.

"I'll take model Maka."

Spirit cried as he unplugged Model Maka.

"Octopus head, come here! In order for her artificial heart to start, you have to kiss her lips!" Spirit pulled on Soul's arm.

"What?"

…

"THAT'S IT!"

_Maka_

_(sense_

_(sound_

_; voice; recognize? _

_ERROR _

_ERROR _

_ERROR_

_(respond?_

_(open eyes_

_ERROR  
ERROR  
ERROR_

_(thought_

_;feels like sleeping, but why am I still awake? _

_;Soul, do something! Help me! Owner, are you there?_

_(sense_

_(sound_

_;voice; recognize! Soul_

"_Why can't I do this?" _

_(thought_

_;Soul, I'm here! _

_;Can't you hear me?_

_ERROR_

_ERROR_

_ERROR_

_(sense_

_(sound_

_(voice; recognize! Soul_

"_That's it!"_

_(sense_

_(touch_

_;lips_

_(respond?_

_(open eyes_

a/n …and it's finally over! Oh, and Maka's part is supposed to mimic the code my roommate was showing me (Java?). I would have tried and made it look more realistic but kind of screws up the formatting. Too bad. Thanks for sticking with me! ^_^


End file.
